Alexandru G. Golescu (1819 – 15 August 1881) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n politician who served as a

Prime Minister of Romania The prime minister of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania ( ro, Prim-ministrul Guvernului României, link=no), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was s ...

in 1870.

Life

Early life

Born in the Golescu family of

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were sec ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

, he was the cousin of the brothers

Ștefan Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname. For the English version, see Stefan. Some better known people with the name Ștefan are listed below. For a comprehensive list see . Notable persons with that name ...

and

Nicolae Golescu Nicolae Golescu (1810–1877) was a Wallachian Romanian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania in 1860 and May–November 1868.James Chastain (2004). ''Golescu Brothers''. Ohio University https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/dh/golesb.ht ...

; Alexandru G. was often referred to as Alexandru Golescu Negru (''Golescu the Black''), to distinguish him from his relative and fellow activist Alexandru C. Golescu (who was known as "Albu" – ''the White''). Alexandru G. Golescu studied at the Saint Sava Academy and then in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, at the '' École d'Arts et Métiers'', after which he returned to be an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

in Wallachia. Together with

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother's ...

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, ...

and

Christian Tell Christian Tell (January 12, 1808 - February 4/16, 1884) was a Transylvanian-born Wallachian and Romanian general and politician. Life and activity He was born in Brașov on January 12, 1808. He studied at the Saint Sava National College in Buch ...

, Golescu was a founding member of the ''Frăția'' ("Brotherhood"), a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

secret society in 1843, meant as opposition to Wallachian Prince

Gheorghe Bibescu Gheorghe Bibescu (;April 26th 1804 – 1 June 1873) was a ''hospodar'' (Prince) of Wallachia between 1843 and 1848. His rule coincided with the revolutionary tide that culminated in the 1848 Wallachian revolution. Early political career Born in ...

. He returned to Paris in 1845 to be a member of a revolutionary society of the Romanian students.

Revolution and later years

He took part in the

Wallachian revolution of 1848 The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sought ...

, and were members of the Revolutionary Committee formed around ''Frăția''. He was a secretary of the Provisional Government, and served as its representative in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

after 14 July 1848 (in this capacity, he called for the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Revo ...

's support in combating the threat of Ottoman and

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

n intervention in Wallachia). Golescu was also active in negotiating an agreement between the Hungarian government of

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

and the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

forces of Avram Iancu, but his efforts were largely unsuccessful. After the revolution in Bucharest was crushed, Ghica remained in exile until 1856, when, after Russian presence had been swept by the effects of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

he returned to campaign for the unification of

and

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, which was successful in 1859 when

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...

was elected ''

Domnitor ''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn''" ...

'' of the two

Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...

. He later served several times as minister and once, for only half a year, as Prime Minister under Prince Carol. He died at his estate in Rusănești,

Olt County Olt County () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt river). The capital city is Slatina. History On 24 August 2017, the Olt County ...

Works

*''Die politische Stellung der Roumänen'',

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1848 *''De l'abolition du servage dans les Principautés Danubiennes'',

, 1856

External links

''Golescu-Negru''
by James Chastain, 19 October 2004, at the Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. {{DEFAULTSORT:Golescu, Alexandru G. 1819 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Bucharest Saint Sava National College alumni People of the Principality of Wallachia Alexandru G. Prime Ministers of Romania Romanian Ministers of Finance Romanian Ministers of Interior Romanian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Diplomats from Bucharest Romanian revolutionaries People of the Revolutions of 1848 Arts et Métiers ParisTech alumni